Snake Charmer

This is Dan,

We decided to venture away from the beach today and went the opposite direction into the hills for a quick hike. It was about a 20 minute drive, which is enough of a challenge for Jess in itself, then we proceeded to walk for another 30-45 minutes. We were on our way to a lookout point, when our hike was abruptly cut short by the familiar, but still terrifying, rattle of a rattlesnake. We both have had encounters with rattlesnakes before which helped us determine what was going quickly. It was sunbathing on the side of the trail and did not appreciate the intrusion. Luckily it gave us plenty of warning and we were more then happy to simply turn around and proceed back the way we came. Jess was walking in the front (to show her independence) and did a good job of recognizing what was happening by standing still, but did not have the dexterity to walk backwards or to turn around abruptly. I picked her up (probably rougher then i intended) and pointed her in the direction we had just came from. We continued for rest of our hike without any more excitement, but did appreciate the change of scenery and the challenge of walking off road. Between the driving, hiking and the excitement of the snake, Jess was pretty drained when we got back and shortly took a nap. I think if anything, the snake was simply reminding Jess that she should not overdue things and should probably head home to rest up. If only Jess listened to me as intently as she does a snake.